Rifleman's Ration

Rifleman's Ration is an ale brewed by Toronto's Black Creek Historic Brewery.  It's sold in 500mL bottles and contains 5% alcohol. The label provides a brief write-up about the War of 1812 and another about the beer itself.  It informed me that this brew is made with 100% Ontario ingredients.

R.R. pours a swampy-looking brown colour topped with almost no head.  It has very little carbonation. The aroma is malt heavy, featuring toasty notes and a bit of molasses.  It has a very enjoyable and intricate flavour--encompasses brown sugar, molasses, caramel, and, at the finish, a layer of hoppy bitterness. It's fairly malt forward and toasty grog.

I wouldn't object to a bit more carbonation, but, as this is an historic ale, perhaps I shouldn't complain about that. Still, I find it a bit disarming to pour a beer without head. That said, this was a very enjoyable little ale.

I've written about it before, but it bears mentioning again--Black Creek strives to create beers as they were historically enjoyed.  I think that's very cool.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10